A/HRC/7/3/Add.6 page 17 57. The Special Rapporteur notes that the legitimacy and credibility of the NPC has been questioned because of the 2006 presidential appointments of the Commissioners, in a manner similar to the appointments to the NCHR (see below). 58. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) was given the mandate by the Inspector General of the Police (IGP) to handle all criminal investigations into complaints of alleged torture, other than complaints relating to allegations against CID officers. However, complaints of torture recorded at police stations are first referred to the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) or the Superintendent of Police (SP) of the relevant area. The legal division of the police refers them to the IGP who refers them to the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), under his command. The SIU is also handling allegations of torture referred to the Government by the NHRC, NGOs and the Special Rapporteur on Torture in his communications and regularly provides the Special Rapporteur with clarifications and updates. Apart from the SIU, senior police officers with regional command responsibilities also conduct inquiries into torture allegations. National Human Rights Commission 59. The NHRC, created in 1997, is empowered to conduct investigations into complaints of violation of fundamental rights, such as violations of article 11 of the Constitution prohibiting torture (art. 14 of Establishment Act No. 21). Subsequently, the NHRC can refer the matter for reconciliation or mediation. In case this procedure fails, the NHRC may recommend initiating a prosecution of the perpetrator. However, lacking the capacity to conduct detailed criminal investigations into complaints of torture, the NHRC can only make recommendations and is not empowered to approach courts directly. 60. According to representatives of the NHRC, the Commission received a total of 405 complaints of torture in the first nine months of 2007. 61. The Special Rapporteur notes a regrettable development related to independent human rights monitoring in Sri Lanka with the downgrading in October 2007 of the NHRC by the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (ICC). In its report,16 the ICC’s Sub-Committee on Accreditation expressed concern about the independence of the Commissioners, in view of the 2006 presidential appointments, which were done without the recommendation of the Constitutional Council, as prescribed in Sri Lanka law. It further questioned whether the actual practice of the Commission remained balanced, objective and non-political, particularly with regard to the discontinuation of follow-up to 2,000 cases of disappearances in July 2006. The Sub-Committee noted that the NHRC did not take measures to ensure its independent character and political objectivity, and it failed to issue annual reports on human rights, as required by the Paris Principles. The Sub-Committee, also noting the importance for national human rights 16 Report and recommendations of the Sub-Committee on Accreditation, December 2007.